Mother–Infant and Extra-dyadic Interactions with a New Social Partner: Developmental Trajectories of Early Social Abilities during Play

Mother–infant interactions during feeding and play are pivotal experiences in the development of infants’ early social abilities (Stern, 1985, 1995; Biringen, 2000). Stern indicated distinctive characteristics of mother–infant interactions, respectively, during feeding and play, suggesting to evaluate both to better describe the complexity of such early affective and social experiences (Stern, 1996). Moreover, during the first years of life, infants acquire cognitive and social skills that allow them to interact with new social partners in extra-dyadic interactions. However, the relations between mother–child interactions and infants’ social skills in extra-dyadic interactions are still unknown. We investigated longitudinally the relations between mother–child interactions during feeding and play and child’s pre-verbal communicative abilities in extra-dyadic interactions during play. 20 dyads were evaluated at T1 (infants aged between 9–22 months) and 6 months later, at T2. The interdyadic differences in mother–infant interactions during feeding and play were evaluated, respectively, with the “Feeding Scale” (Chatoor et al., 1997) and with the “Play Scale” (Chatoor, 2006) and the socio-communicative abilities of children with a new social partner during play were evaluated with the “Early Social Communication Scales” (Mundy et al., 2003). We distinguished the dyads into two categories: dyads with functional interactions (high dyadic reciprocity, low dyadic conflict) and dyads with dysfunctional interactions (lower dyadic reciprocity, higher dyadic conflict). At T1, infants belonging to dyads with dysfunctional interactions were significantly lower in “Initiating Joint Attention” and in “Responding to Joint Attention” in interaction with a new social partner compared to the infants belonging to dyads with functional interactions. At T2, infants belonging to dyads with dysfunctional interactions were significantly lower in “Initiating Social Interactions” with a new social partner compared to the infants belonging to dyads with functional interactions. There were significant correlations between the quality of mother–infant interactions during feeding and infants’ social abilities in interaction with a stranger both at T1 and at T2. This study showed a stable relation over time between mother–child interactions and child’s social communicative skills in extra-dyadic interactions

An Experimental Study on Sarcasm Comprehension in School Children: The Possible Role of Contextual, Linguistics and Meta-Representative Factors

Understanding sarcasm is a complex ability, which includes several processes. Previous studies demonstrated the possible roles of linguistic and meta-representative factors in understanding sarcasm in school children, while the influence of specific contextual variables still needs to be investigated. Here, we present two studies investigating the possible role of contextual, linguistics, and meta-representative factors in understanding sarcasm in school children. In Study 1, we investigated sarcasm comprehension in 8–9-year-old school children in three different contexts, in which both familiarity and authority were manipulated. We found that understanding sarcasm was facilitated when the conversational partner was characterized by a high level of authority and familiarity (the mother) rather than when the conversational partner was an adult with a lower level of both authority and familiarity (the cashier of a food store). In Study 2, we replicated and extended Study 1 by investigating the possible influence of the same contextual factors but in a more sizeable sample and at different ages: first, third, and fifth grades of primary school. We found that understanding sarcasm improved significantly with age. The results of both studies indicated that understanding sarcasm is influenced by contextual factors. Children at any age better understood sarcasm produced by a speaker with a high level of both familiarity and authority. This ability improved with age. These results expand our understanding of how children infer a speaker’s intentions in sarcasm. This might be particularly of interest to develop possible interventions for children on the Autism Spectrum, who are known to misunderstand sarcasm at different levels of complexity

Self-efficacy in life skills and satisfaction among adolescents in school transitions

Background: Life skills, according to the World Health Organization, can promote youth well-being through educational school programs. Among life skills, decision-making and problem-solving skills can help adolescents consciously choose their career path.The Italian school system, in fact, requires students, already at a young age (13-14 years old) to make important decisions about their future, like for example choosing the high school that they would like to attend. This study aims to analyze differences in decision-making, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction in a sample of adolescents in secondary school in Italy. It aims to analyze whether there are differences in those dimensions according to students' age, gender, regularity, and future choice intentions.Background:Life skills, according to the World Health Organization, can promote youth well-being through educational school programs. Among life skills, decision-making and problem-solving skills can help adolescents consciously choose their career path.The Italian school system, in fact, requires students, already at a young age (13-14 years old) to make important decisions about their future, like for example choosing the high school that they would like to attend. This study aims to analyze differences in decision-making, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction in a sample of adolescents in secondary school in Italy. It aims to analyze whether there are differences in those dimensions according to students' age, gender, regularity, and future choice intentions.Design and methods:Here we present a cross-sectional study involving 2104 students, balanced by gender, and attending upper secondary school in Italy. Participants completed Soresi and Nota's questionnaires on life satisfaction and Caprara's questionnaire on problem-solving self-efficacy. The data were processed using MANOVA.Results:Research results show significant differences in self-efficacy and school satisfaction in relation to the age at which school transition occurred. Specifically, incoming preadolescents (13-14 years old) scored lower than outgoing late adolescents (17-18 years old) in both decision-making self-efficacy and school satisfaction. Girls scored lower than boys in decision-making self-efficacy. Students who expressed the intention to drop out of school scored lowest on both the self-efficacy and perceived support satisfaction scales.Conclusions:The results highlight the importance of promoting the development of self-efficacy in life skills and school satisfaction to help students in school transitions

Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Student Distress and School Dropout: A Comparison between the Perspectives of Preadolescents, Parents, and Teachers

This study investigates the principal risk and protective factors associated with student distress and school dropout in a group of preadolescents, through a qualitative and quantitative comparison between the perspectives of students, parents, and teachers. We administered a questionnaire to evaluate student distress and school dropout in a middle school (student's age range 13-15 years). We afterwards analyzed the responses of students at risk of school dropout. We also administered a semi-structured interview with their parents and their teachers. The results indicated significant levels of school distress in students (Collective Distress > 8.75) and a problematic relationship between parents and students (22.42%). We also found a problematic relationship between teachers and students (24.39%). The main protective factor of student distress and school drop-out indicated by the students was a more sensitive and supportive relationship with both parents and teachers. On the contrary, parents and teachers indicated as possible causes of school distress and drop-out the intrinsic students' motivation or other external factors associated with the community. The results of our study highlight the importance to apply a multidimensional and transactional psycho-educational model, in which the relationship between the students and their caretaker plays a major role

Elements of Biophilic Design Increase Visual Attention in Preschoolers

Biophilic design increases attention among adults, but little is known about the influence of biophilic design on attention in childhood. We assessed visual attention in 4–5-year-old children as a function of high and low degrees of biophilic design. In the high-biophilic-design condition, the children saw four plants, which were placed on their desks. In the low-biophilic-design condition, the children saw no plants on their desks. The children viewed a series of abstract images on a computer screen while their visual attention was measured with an eye tracker. We found that the durations of the children’s first fixations were significantly higher in the high-biophilic-design compared to those in the low-biophilic-design. This study demonstrates the potential of biophilic design to increase visual attention in indoor environments. The implications of this finding for architecture and building design are discussed

Antilisterial Activity of Nisin-Like Bacteriocin-Producing Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis Isolated from Traditional Sardinian Dairy Products

With the aim of selecting LAB strains with antilisterial activity to be used as protective cultures to enhance the safety of dairy products, the antimicrobial properties of 117 Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis isolated from artisanal Sardinian dairy products were evaluated, and six strains were found to produce bacteriocin-like substances. The capacity of these strains to antagonize Listeria monocytogenes during cocultivation in skimmed milk was evaluated, showing a reduction of L. monocytogenes counts of approximately 4 log units compared to the positive control after 24 h of incubation. In order for a strain to be used as bioprotective culture, it should be carefully evaluated for the presence of virulence factors, to determine what potential risks might be involved in its use. None of the strains tested was found to produce biogenic amines or to possess haemolytic activity. In addition, all strains were sensitive to clinically important antibiotics such as ampicillin, tetracycline, and vancomycin. Our results suggest that these bac+ strains could be potentially applied in cheese manufacturing to control the growth of L. monocytogenes

Inspiring Robots: Developmental trajectories of gaze following in humans

Abstract: The ability to respond to gaze cueing is essential for successful social interactions and social learning. An active area of research in human robot interactions (HRI) focuses on the computational encoding of biologically realistic gaze cueing responses in robots. Studies of human development are a primary source of guidance for this field of research. The investigation of how perceived gazes constrain the developmental trajectories of visual attention in humans from childhood to adulthood might reveal important factors to implement realistic gaze following in social robots. This study investigated spontaneous gaze following in 2 and 4-year-old children and adults. Participants saw faces of an adult gazing toward an object. We found that accuracy of gaze following improved significantly with age. The results are discussed considering the development of the executive control of visual attention in humans and its possible implication in implementing gaze following in social robotics.Keywords: Gaze Following; Eye Tracking; Visual Attention; Social Robotics; Developmental TrajectoriesIspirare la robotica: traiettorie evolutive della capacità di seguire la direzione dello sguardo negli esseri umaniRiassunto: La capacità di seguire la direzione dello sguardo è essenziale per il successo delle interazioni sociali e per l’apprendimento sociale. Un’area di ricerca particolarmente attiva nell’ambito dell’interazione uomo-robot (HRI - human robot interactions) si focalizza sulla codifica computazionale della capacità di seguire la direzione dello sguardo nei robot. Studiare come la capacità di seguire lo sguardo possa influenzare l’attenzione visiva negli esseri umani dall’infanzia all’età adulta può rivelare importanti informazioni per implementare la capacità di seguire lo sguardo nei robot sociali. Questo studio ha indagato la capacità spontanea di seguire la direzione dello sguardo in bambini di 2 e 4 anni e negli adulti. I partecipanti hanno osservato una serie di volti umani con lo sguardo rivolto verso un oggetto. I risultati hanno indicato che l’accuratezza nel gaze following migliora in modo significativo con l’età. I risultati sono stati discussi considerando il ruolo del controllo esecutivo dell’attenzione visiva negli esseri umani e le sue possibili implicazioni per implementare l’abilità di seguire la direzione dello sguardo nei robot sociali.Parole chiave: Seguire la direzione dello sguardo; Eye Tracking; Attenzione visiva; Robot sociali; Traiettorie evolutiv

An Overview of the Main Genetic, Epigenetic and Environmental Factors Involved in Autism Spectrum Disorder Focusing on Synaptic Activity

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that aects social interaction and communication, with restricted interests, activity and behaviors. ASD is highly familial, indicating that genetic background strongly contributes to the development of this condition. However, only a fraction of the total number of genes thought to be associated with the condition have been discovered. Moreover, other factors may play an important role in ASD onset. In fact, it has been shown that parental conditions and in utero and perinatal factors may contribute to ASD etiology. More recently, epigenetic changes, including DNA methylation and micro RNA alterations, have been associated with ASD and proposed as potential biomarkers. This review aims to provide a summary of the literature regarding ASD candidate genes, mainly focusing on synapse formation and functionality and relevant epigenetic and environmental aspects acting in concert to determine ASD onset

Sensory Processing, Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Parental Feeding Practices in The Explanation of Food Selectivity: Clustering Children with and Without Autism

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders (ASD) and compared to Typically Developing Children (TDC), experience significantly more feeding problems. Food selectivity is a complex phenomenon that involves individual and contextual factors (sensory abnormalities, severity of behavioral problems, gastrointestinal disorders, parenting styles and so on). The clarification of these key factors is the aim of the current study, comparing a group of children with ASD with a group of TDC on different variables such as food selectivity, anthropometric measures, gastrointestinal symptoms, diet, sensory processing and caregiver feeding practices. Moreover, the same variables described above are studied using a classification model for both groups. Results display that parenting style, sensory anomalies and gastrointestinal symptoms were associated with food refusal of children. Moreover, it is possible to observe similar profiles in children with feeding problems in both groups. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by social communication deficit and a tendency to engage in a pattern of restricted and repetitive behaviors, in which sensory issues are included (American Psychiatric Association [APA], [1]). Children with ASD, compared to Typically Developing Children (TDC), experience significantly more feeding problems [2], with food selectivity being the most frequently reported. Food selectivity could be operationally defined on the basis of the occurrence of the following behaviours: food refusal, limited repertoires of food, high frequency single food intake [3]. Several research studies observed a prevalence between 70% and 80% of food selectivity among children with ASD [4-6], despite parents never having described their children as in appetent [7]. Klein and Nowak (1999) [8] found that 53% of children were reluctant to try new foods. Whiteley, Rodgers, and Shattok (2000) [9] indicated a prevalence of 83% of children with a restricted repertoire of foods eaten. Similarly, Schreck and Williams (2006) [6] found that 57% of children refused food, while 72% accepted limited variety. A more consistent prevalence was found by Lockner, Crowe, and Skipper (2008), [10] who thought that new foods refusal in children with ASD was higher compared to TDC (95% vs. 47%). Furthermore, children with ASD were characterized also by a limited variety of food intake (16% vs. 58%). However, Bandini et al. (2010) [3] found lower rates of refusal in both groups compared to previous studies (41.7% vs. 18.9%). Methodological differences in research studies such as different approach mechanisms may have accounted for conflicting results. Food selectivity in ASD is really important because it is linked to health risks for children, and it may require some medical intervention [11]. In fact, in a recent review by the same authors, BMI and other anthropometric values in children with autism seem to differ from that of TDC, along with nutritional insufficiency [12]. However, in this survey as well as other recent studies [13,14] this difference was not always confirmed, with the literature still seeming incomplete. At the same time several studies tried to identify some of the causes for food selectivity in children with ASD. Some researchers investigated the role of motor coordination disorders and/or gastrointestinal problems. Children with praxis difficulties may lack the necessary motor skills to adequately handle food, leading to negative emotions avoidance [15]. Also, researchers have found contrasting results in Gastrointestinal Disorders (GID). According to a recent survey, a higher frequency of GID may be associated with a more severe food selectivity in children with ASD [16], while for others, the two phenomena seem largely independent in children with autism [17]. Indeed, children with and without autism experiencing frequently bowel problems and/or gastroesophageal reflux could display more feeding-related problems, since they could try to avoid foods associated with adverse circumstances. On the other hand, many children with autism commonly well-defined as picky or choosy eaters do not show gastrointestinal issues. In fact, other authors explained food selectivity in children with ASD as a consequence of repetitive behaviour and restricted interests [18,19]. However, the most accepted etiological hypothesis would seem to postulate a relationship between sensory perception abnormalities and rejection of food [20] both from children with typical and atypical development. As shown by Nadon, Feldman, Dunn, and Gisel (2011) [21], almost 90% of children with ASD show impairment in sensory processing information, including a hypo and or hypersensitivity to environmental stimuli. The differences in sensory processing in children with ASD have been well documented [22]. These abnormalities have been associated with both behavioural and emotional problems [23,24] and the severity of symptoms [25]. Since foods have several properties which can stimulate sense organs, it is possible that children who have sensory perception alteration might refuse them to a greater extent as they are more or less stimulating. From interviews with parents and behavioural observations it has been proven that children with ASD are adverse towards food characteristics such as texture, smell, taste and temperature [10,14,23,26-28], yet other food properties seem to be more important to them such as brand, packaging (patterns/colours), food presentation and even cutlery [4,6,9]. Finally, eating behaviours not only have a biological matrix but are also influenced by social and cultural variables [29], therefore it’s possible that in addition to the individual dimensions, parental feeding practices can also play a significant role in food selectivity. Currently, a research study [13] evaluated the parental feeding style and the food selectivity in children with ASD, indicating strategies as prompting/encouragement as the most used among parents. This direction of research is of particular interest not only scientifically but also in the way of application. If a relationship between parental feeding practices and food selectivity is found, it will be possible to devise intervention programs aimed at promoting functional parenting styles in order to achieve healthy eating behaviors. Hence, the aim of the current study is to compare a group of children with ASD with a group of TDC on different variables such as food selectivity, weight, gastrointestinal disorders, diet, sensory process and caregiver feeding practices. To sum up, we want to explore the following research questions: a) if the group of children with ASD shows more levels of food selectivity than controls; b) if the children with ASD report lower scores of BMI than controls; c) if the clinical group shows more sensory abnormalities than controls; d) if an association between food selectivity, BMI, GID, sensory dimensions and parental feeding styles can be established in both groups of children, e) if it is possible to discover similar profiles of children in both groups

A pilot study on brain plasticity of functional connectivity modulated by cognitive training in mild Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Alzheimer's disease (AD) alters the functional connectivity of the default mode network (DMN) but also the topological properties of the functional connectome. Cognitive training (CT) is a tool to slow down AD progression and is likely to impact on functional connectivity. In this pilot study, we aimed at investigating brain functional changes after a period of CT and active control (AC) in a group of 26 subjects with mild AD (mAD), 26 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and a control group of 29 healthy elderly (HE) people. They all underwent a CT and AC in a counterbalanced order following a crossover design. Resting-state functional MRI and neuropsychological testing were acquired before and after each period. We tested post-CT and post-AC changes of cognitive abilities, of the functional connectivity of the DMN, and of topological network properties derived from graph theory and network-based statistics. Only CT produced functional changes, increasing the functional connectivity of the posterior DMN in all three groups. mAD also showed functional changes in the medial temporal lobe and topological changes in the anterior cingulum, whereas aMCI showed more widespread topological changes involving the frontal lobes, the cerebellum and the thalamus. Our results suggest specific functional connectivity changes after CT for aMCI and mAD